Category Archives: VK3/VN-002

The Sunday of ANZAC Day weekend emerged as my first full SOTA day for 2016 and with perfect weather forecast (low 20 degrees Celsius) I was keen to have a second try at Mount Bullfight (VK3/VN-002), this time approaching it from the ridge, not the creek. Last time, on 2nd December last year, I arrived later in the day after having activated two other summits, Mt Mitchell (VK3/VN-012) and the scenic Sugarloaf Peak (VK3/VN-011). On that occasion I left Bullfight Track about 300 meters further on and encountered the creek and thick undergrowth — not easy. There is a description of the two approaches in my previous post, and a map with the two paths here. There are no paths or tracks in the vicinity of Mount Bullfight summit, so no two climbers take exactly the same way. This time I wanted to cut in from Bullfight Track earlier, close to Stillman’s Lookout sign, which others had reported as being relatively clear of the dense undergrowth that slowed me down. I also wanted to tackle it as the first summit of the day, not the second or third, with plenty of time to spare. Whichever way you take, the final ascent to Bullfight summit is a decent climb.

My two-summit plan for the day was to drive to Buxton, activate Mt Mitchell (VK3/VN-012) first, then take a leisurely climb up Sugarloaf Peak (VK3/VN-011) in the Cathedral Ranges, and if conditions up there were good, loaf around on the summit. As it worked out, Mt Mitchell was a drive-up summit, and without rushing anything at Sugarloaf Peak I had time left in the afternoon to drive on and tackle a bullfight. Well more of a bush-fight than a bull-fight… more on that later.